STEVE CORONELLA: Note to parents: college not only path to success

DUBLIN – This is a special time of year in millions of American households as families receive acceptance (or rejection) letters intended for the college-bound individuals within their ranks.

Just a thought, but maybe this ritual should become a bit less commonplace.

Case in point: Much to my sister’s surprise, one of her sons — a bright and personable young man — is determined that he will not be attending college when his high school education concludes in 2019. Instead, he’s enrolled in the vocational side of my alma mater, mixing a rounded schedule of academic work (at which he excels) with his training as an electrician.

My 16-year-old nephew is demonstrating more sense than many public policy makers. His wisdom is self-evident.

For one thing, he will always have the option of pursuing university level learning later in life, when he has the maturity to benefit from it. (This is not a trivial point, given the childish antics posing as adult behavior on many college campuses these days.)

More important, though, he’ll be spared the burdensome debt of a college loan — and become an almost instant earner upon graduation.

According to the student loan marketplace www.lendEDU.com, the average debt per borrower at a public college is $26,872. This rises to $31,710 if you’re inclined to a private college experience.

For graduate school students — whose parents have by now presumably said, “Time to pay your own way, sunshine” — the average debt is a staggering $57,600.

Without such onerous financial liabilities hanging over my nephew, his parents’ retirement years will be far less precarious. Plus, it never hurts to have a skilled tradesman in the family. If I had half the DIY aptitude that my multi-talented brother-in-law possesses, my wife would be a far happier woman.

Viewed collectively, wouldn’t more kids opting into the trades be a good thing for the country as a whole? It would appear so.

According to the National Center on Education and the Economy: “While the U.S. has a youth unemployment rate at about the OECD average of 15 percent, the systems with strong upper secondary vocational programs have some of the lowest youth unemployment rates in the world. This is not a coincidence.”

For instance, 2014 unemployment rates for 15- to 29-year-olds in Switzerland and Germany — countries where the vocational programs are nationally certified and thus an attractive option for high school students — are 9.6 percent and 9.9 percent respectively. (And these figures appear to be declining if my search of economic websites is any indication.)

If you’re still unconvinced: Gone are the days when the Voke was where the local no-hopers ended up, those students considered ill-suited, for whatever reason, to the presumed rigors of a traditional high school education. Technical high schools now have state-of-the-art equipment for students to train on — from automotive technology to electrical instruments to heating and ventilation systems.

All things considered, then, it appears my nephew is on to a good thing.

As for my own son: he hopes to pursue a combined Business and Law Degree at University College Dublin in the fall. So chances are he’ll never be able to install a light fixture or an electrical outlet, like his cousin.

On the other hand, maybe one day he’ll have the knowledge and training to negotiate a six-figure book deal for me.

Medford High School grad Steve Coronella (Class of ‘77) has lived in Ireland since 1992. His new book is entitled “Entering Medford – And Other Destinations.”